Tea Fact Sheet

Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water, and can be found in almost 80% of all U.S. households. It is the only beverage commonly served hot or iced, anytime, anywhere, for any occasion. On any given day, over 159 million Americans are drinking tea.

Annual Consumption:

(U.S.)

In 2017, Americans consumed over 84 billion servings of tea, or more than 3.8 billion gallons. About 86% of all tea consumed was Black Tea, 13% was Green Tea, and the small remaining amount was Oolong, White and Dark Tea.

Year-on-year, imports are holding steady, but there is a distinct shift away from green tea vs. previous years.

The U.S. continues as the third largest importer of tea in the world after Russia and Pakistan, and literally the only western country to grow in both tea imports and consumption.

Approximately four in five consumers drink tea, with Millennials being the most likely (87% of millennials drink tea).

Daily Consumption:

(U.S.)

On any given day, more than one half of the American population drinks tea. On a regional basis, the South and Northeast have the greatest concentration of tea drinkers.

Iced Tea Consumption:

Approximately 80% of tea consumed in America is iced.

Ready-To-Drink Iced Teas:

The RTD tea category continues its solid growth and is expected to have experienced another 4% growth in 2017. Category volume exceeded 1.8 billion gallons in 2017 (est). The canned/bottled RTD tea segment comprised just under 50% of the market share and is expected to continue to grow an estimated 30 – 35% (4 – 6% CAGR) over the next five years.

Tea Bags, Herbal & Loose Tea:

The bagged/loose leaf tea segment (DMM/Grocery) continues to lag, showing little to no growth, although it appears to have recovered some of the market share losses in 2016. While comprising an approximate 23% market share it remains an important segment, particularly to new users. Foodservice, refrigerated teas and high end specialty teas continue to grow at 7 – 10% per annum.

Current Sales:

In 2016, total U.S. Black and Green Tea imports were 289 million pounds a 1% increase over 2015. Import figures available thru July 2017 are holding steady.

Hot Tea consumption has grown steadily over the past 5 years, as consumers embrace its health benefits and variety.

Anticipated Sales:

(U.S.)

The industry anticipates strong, continuous growth, with a CAGR of 3-5%. This growth will come from all segments driven by variety, convenience, health benefits, sustainability, availability, continued innovation and the discovery of unique, flavorful and high-end Specialty Tea. Long term success relies on the continued adoption of tea by new consumers who continually seek healthy food and beverage choices.

Varieties:

Black, Green, Oolong, Dark and White teas all come from the same plant, a warm-weather evergreen named Camellia sinensis. Differences among the five types of tea result from the various degrees of processing and the level of oxidization. Black tea is fully oxidized and Oolong teas are partially oxidized. After withering and rolling, the tea leaves undergo natural chemical reactions resulting in taste and color changes and that develop the teas distinguishing characteristics. Green & White teas are not oxidized after leaf harvesting. Oolong tea is midway between Black and Green teas in strength and color. Dark teas are fermented after manufacture.

Tea is nearly 5,000 years old. Purportedly discovered in 2737 BC by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, aka “The Divine Healer”. As legend tells us, some tea leaves accidentally blew into the Emperor’s pot of boiling water and created the first tea brew. According to Chinese tea scholars, the Emperor, as a botanical explorer, accidentally poisoned himself some 85 times, each time being cured by this wonderful tea brew.

In the 1600’s, tea became highly popular throughout Europe and the American colonies. Tea played a dramatic part in the establishment of the United States of America. In 1767 the British Government put a tax on the tea used by American colonists. Protesting this “taxation without representation,” the colonists decided to stop buying tea and refused to allow tea ships to be unloaded. One December night in 1723, men dressed as Native Americans boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and threw more than 300 chests of tea into the sea. While not the only instance of teas being thrown overboard in protest of the British tax on tea, this most famous Boston Tea Party was said to be a principle act leading to the Revolutionary War. Anna, Duchess of Bedford, is credited with creating Afternoon Tea in 1840, when she began taking tea with a light snack around 4:00 p.m. to ward off “that sinking feeling.”

High Tea originated with the rural and working class British, who would return to their homes at about 6:00 p.m. for a meal of potted meats, fish, cheese, salads, sweets, and a pot of strong tea. The U.S. played an important role in the history of tea, inventing the tea bag and popularizing iced tea in 1904. Recently, the U.S. has led the rest of the world in marketing convenient Ready-To-Drink forms of tea in bottles.

Environmental

Qualities:

Tea is an all-natural and environmentally sound product from a renewable source. Tea supports sustainability in three ways: Ecological, Social and Economic. Hundreds of thousands of workers are involved with the growing, production and manufacturing of the tea that you consume every day. The tea plant is naturally resistant to most insects; oxidation of the tea leaf is a natural process; and, many tea packers use recycled paper for packaging.

Health Qualities:

Tea is a refreshing beverage that contains no sodium, fat, carbonation, or sugar. It is virtually calorie-free. Tea helps maintain proper fluid balance and may contribute to overall good health.

Tea contains flavonoids, naturally occurring compounds that are believed to have antioxidant properties. Tea flavonoids often provide bioactive compounds that help to neutralize free radicals, which scientists believe, over time, damage elements in the body, such as genetic material and lipids, and contribute to chronic disease.

Every day, new findings from the international scientific community lend credibility to tea’s healthy properties. Recent research has explored the potential health attributes of tea through studies in humans, animal models and through in vitro laboratory research. For the most part, studies conducted on green and black tea, which are both from the Camellia sinensis plant, have yielded similar results. Recent research suggests that tea and tea flavonoids may play important roles in various areas of health and may operate through several different mechanisms still being explored.

Research continues, and the list of key areas of research are as follows:

Heart Health:

Human population studies have found that people who regularly consume three or more cups of Black Tea per day have a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.11-15 The current body of research suggests that drinking tea can offer significant heart health benefits ranging from reducing heart attack risk to lowering Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, with benefits seen with just one cup and upwards of six cups a day. A Harvard study found that those who drank a cup or more of black tea per day had a 44% reduced risk of heart attack.[1] In a large population based study, adults who drank just over two cups of green tea per day reduced their risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 22-23%.[2] A US Department of Agriculture study found that participants who drank five cups of black tea per day along with a diet moderately low in fat and cholesterol reduced their LDL cholesterol by about 11% after three weeks.[3] Additionally, a study published in the December 2013 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that black tea reduced blood pressure, and among hypertensive subjects, it helped counteract the negative effects of a high-fat meal on blood pressure and arterial blood flow.42

Certain Cancers:

More than 3,000 published research studies exist that evaluate the role tea—whether white, green, oolong or black—and tea compounds, such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), may play in cancers of various sites. Benefits to gastrointestinal health reaped by tea-drinking seem to be cumulative and dependent upon the amount of tea consumed per day as well as the number of tea-drinking years. One study found that women who consumed the equivalent of 2.5 cups of tea per day had a 60% reduction in rectal cancer risk, compared with women who drank less than 1.2 cups of tea daily.[4] An additional study found tea drinkers to have an approximate 42% reduced risk of colon cancer compared to non-tea drinkers. Men who drank more than 1.5 cups of tea per day were found to have a 70% lower colon cancer risk.[5] One study showed that participants who drank iced black tea and citrus peel had a 42% reduced risk of skin cancer[6] and hot black tea consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of the most common form of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma.[7] A study published in the February 2015 issue of the Journal of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research found that the main antioxidant in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), helps kill cancer cells through the destruction of the cells’ mitochondria.43

Neurological Decline:

Age-related declines in memory and cognition occur naturally, but research suggests that modifiable factors, such as diet and exercise, may help slow the progression of age-related neurodegeneration.16-17 Research indicates recommendations to improve heart and cardiovascular function are also neuroprotective.16-17 The benefits of tea that help improve biomarkers for reducing risk of heart disease may improve brain health too. The antioxidants in tea may be one way to help protect brain cells from environmental insults from free radicals. 18-20 In addition, L-theanine in tea has been shown to directly affect areas of the brain that control attention and ability to solve complex problems.21-23 A recently published long-term study of nearly 30,000 adults found that drinking three or more cups of tea per day was associated with a 69% reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.[8] According to research presented at the 2007 Scientific Symposium on Tea and Health, theanine, an amino acid that is for the most part uniquely found in tea (green and black), may help prevent age-related memory decline. This human-based data is supported by recent animal studies utilizing theanine.[9] Another recent animal study shows that green tea may have protective effects against Alzheimer’s disease.[10]

Metabolism, Obesity and Body Composition:

Several studies suggest drinking calorie-free tea may help with weight management.24-35 Preliminary research suggests that tea flavonoids help elevate metabolic rate, increase fat oxidation and improve insulin activity.24,26,28, 33-35 Tea catechins can also provide modest shifts in metabolism that may improve weight loss and maintenance.24,28,34,35 In one review, researchers concluded that subjects consuming green tea and caffeine lost an average of 2.9 pounds within 12 weeks while adhering to their regular diet. The results of another meta-analysis suggest the increase in caloric expenditure is equal to about 100 calories over a 24-hour period. The weight loss benefits of tea vary based on many factors, but studies have found benefits with the equivalent of as little as 2.5 cups of green tea.44

Tea and Reduced Risk of Osteoporosis:

Although high caffeine intake has been suggested to be a risk factor for reduced bone mineral density (BMD), drinking tea has been linked to higher bone mineral density (BMD) and has been shown to boost bone-building markers and improve muscle mass, both of which may reduce the risk for osteoporosis and fracture.36-41 Compared to non-tea drinkers, tea drinkers have been found to have a higher BMD.36 Research suggests that polyphenols in green tea may help improve bone quality and strength. One study found that drinking tea was associated with a 30 percent reduced risk in hip fractures among men and women 50 years of age or older.45

Caffeine Content:

Tea is naturally low in caffeine. A cup of Black Tea, for example, contains about 40 milligrams of caffeine.

Cost Per Serving:

Prepared at home, tea costs about three cents per serving, cup or glass. Tea continues to remain one of the most economical beverages available, even the most expensive teas are less than 10 cents per serving.

Tea:

Tea is a refreshing beverage that tastes great and contains no sugar, sodium, or fat. In addition to being naturally calorie-free, it contributes to total water intake promoting hydration.

Key Tea Terms:

Antioxidant: A substance that helps prevent or delay oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen and or reactive nitrogen species. Oxidative damage to the body, cells and tissues may contribute to diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Phytochemicals: Naturally occurring plant compounds. Many phytochemicals are thought to play a role in decreasing the risk of cancer and heart disease and may boost the immune system. Some phytochemicals such as tea flavonoids are also antioxidants.

Flavonoids: A class of polyphenolic phytochemicals found in tea that are effective antioxidants. Tea flavonoids and related bio-active compounds in tea may play important roles in various areas of heath and may operate through a number of different mechanisms still being explored.

Flavonols: A group of flavonoids found in tea and many fruits and vegetables that are antioxidants and are thought to contribute to some of the potential health benefits in these plant foods. They include rutin, quercetin and kaempferol.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG): The principle catechin in Green and Black Teas. EGCG is a strong antioxidant and has been shown to reduce formation of lung, esophageal and skin tumors in animal models of human cancer.

Theanine: An amino acid commonly found in tea that can cross the blood-brain barrier, therefore has psychoactive properties. It may reduce mental and physical stress, and may produce feelings of relaxation by increasing levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, dopamine, and alpha wave activity.